Various types of Hinge Joints have been developed in the art. They provide a simple, efficient method of allowing two or more components to move about one another in a designated manner. Their simple construction and efficient performance, makes the hinge joints to be found in many everyday products, building structures, vehicles, and complex systems.
Perhaps the most common or well-known type of hinged joints comprises a movable member, such as a door or a lid, coupled to a stationary base or receiver capable of receiving the movable member and allowing the movable member to come to rest within the base or receiver. This fitting incorporates a hole to receive a pin therein which is affixed to a lock bar. The ends of the lock bar bend inwardly to press against the frame and the door for door locking purposes.
Moreover such pin based hinge joints fail to provide proper sealing in the joints to make them completely intact with each other.
Profiled hinged joints are also known in the art. Said joints have fixed member and movable member that is capable of partially rotating in the slot of the fixed member as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,315,345. The fixed member is having a hollow circular bead portion connected to the flange. This invention also does not restrict assembly/disassembly in non-axial directions.
The bead member is partially surrounded by a shell which protrudes from the flange. The gap between the shell and the bead member forms a slot in which the movable member rotates around the bead member. Said design does not provide any sealing properties as the slot in which the movable part rotates is not enclosed structure preventing leakage.
Moreover, other similar kinds of hinge joints fail to gain widespread acceptance either because of their relatively complicated nature, their appearance or inability to provide the necessary degree of desired protection.